Kyiv Lviv Odessa Dnipro Kharkiv Administration of the President Office of the Prime Minister Parliament National Council of Reform Export Promotions Council Anti Corruption Committee Anti Monoploy Committee Business Ombudsman

Sectors

Investment Business law Reform E-government Local government Export Decentralisation Security Announcements Anti-Corruption Anti-Monopoly

•Ukraine's Cabinet estimates that the country will borrow $7
billion in 2017, including $3.2 billion in the foreign market,
according to Interfax Ukraine. For comparison, the 2016 budget
foresaw borrowing of $9.3 billion, including $4.5 billion abroad.

•The predicted 2 to 3 percent GDP growth in 2017 is insufficient to
trigger an economic recovery, Ukrinform cited the head of the Blazer
Fund as saying.

•Ukraine ranked 74th in Forbes' annual ranking of best
countries for business, five places ahead of Russia, Novoe Vremya
reported. Bookending Ukraine on the list of 139 countries were
Indonesia and Armenia.

•Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said land reform in the
agricultural sector must be finished by 2020, and the 2017 budget
calls for the leasing of state-owned land through land auctions,
multiple sources reported. The Rada extended the moratorium on the
sale of farmland imposed in 2002 until 2018. Lawmakers later
submitted bill No. 5535 on farmland turnover to parliament.

•Foreign direct investment from China and South Korea could flow
into Ukraine in 2017, Blazer Fund boss Oleh Ustenko said, as reported
by Ukrinform. He spoke of the possibility of Ukraine and China
signing an FTA agreement, and he said China considers Ukraine a
platform for marketing its products to the European Union.

•Ukraine's national budget surplus in November totaled $549 million
thanks to a significant improvement in target revenue and
simultaneous moderate spending, Interfax Ukraine reported, citing the
State Treasury Service. In the January-November period, the national
budget deficit was $1.7 billion. Only $4 million was received from
privatization.

•Nova Poshta launched express delivery service from China to
Ukraine in cooperation with China's SF Express, Interfax Ukraine
reported. Buyers can order delivery from the largest Chinese online
shops, including Ali Express, to anywhere in Ukraine. In related
news, Ukrposhta seeks to increase net revenue by 20 percent in 2017.

•The Infrastructure Ministry approved Ukrzaliznytsia's plan to
increase cargo transportation fees in 2017, Interfax Ukraine
reported. The increase is slated to happen in two stages: 16 percent
in the first quarter and 16 percent in the fourth quarter.

•The Cabinet drafted a medium-term
development plan through 2020 that is based on economic growth and
revitalization of Ukrainian industry, Unian reported.

•The
Cabinet approved a proposal to impose special import duties on
European automobiles when these imports threaten development of the
domestic automobile industry, Novoe Vremya reported.

•Russia's
Elektromontazh LLC plans to build a $44 million section of railroad
to connect the Voronezh region and the city of Rostov while bypassing
Ukraine, according to Construction.ru.

All rights reserved. Use of material only for reference (for internet issues - hyperlinks) to "UBJ".
Any copying, reproduction, republication or redistribution of information that contains a link to "UBJ"
is strictly prohibited.